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4.) Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool – 14 March 2009
Even after the mind-shattering come-from-behind win on 13 September (see <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/what-makes-a-classic-football-match-part-3-liverpool-2-1-manchester-united/9319" target="_blank">Part 3</a>), I couldn’t let myself feel too optimistic about the trip to Old Trafford. (Going into the biggest matches, I try to remain spiritually pragmatic.) 1-1 at O.T. would be a wonderful result. Another 2-1 Liverpool win&nbsp;would be legendary. Even if we were up 2-1 and United found one of&nbsp;their last-gasp injury-time scorchers (not that Liverpool hadn’t had their fair share of late miracles last season) and the match ended 2-2, I promised myself I ‘d be content with that result. Yes—if Liverpool could score two at O.T. (hey, Stevie G and El Nino were back… why not?) a draw would still make me happy enough.
But then, Park’s run spilled into the left side of the box. Pepe misjudged the danger and rushed out to contain the Korean international. Park tumbled. Pepe cursed himself. The ref gave the penalty.
I was fuming, convinced Park dived. (And this is why&nbsp;I should never be professionally&nbsp;commenting live if Liverpool&nbsp;are involved. Every call against Liverpool would be outrageous. Even if Steven Gerrard slammed his studs into a defender’s head while offsides, while diving, while giving the ref the v-sign, while bragging he’d slept with the ref’s wife,&nbsp;while taking his shirt off to celebrate… when he got sent off,&nbsp;I would still shake my fists and scream: “HEY! THAT’S&nbsp;NEVER A&nbsp;BOOKING!!! So… I don’t always see clearly in the nucleus of the moment. Thank God for replays. I’m often forced to concede: “Oh, okay. Right call. Sorry. Carry on.”)
So Park was fouled.&nbsp;And of course Ronaldo stepped to the spot. And of course he converted. And of&nbsp;&nbsp;course my heart sunk to the heels of my Adidas.
We were down a goal again. (At least it was 23 min in rather than 3 min in—or maybe that’s worse—there’s less time to recover.) Only this time it was at Old Trafford. It felt like being three down.
Oh well, I thought. We already beat them once this season. That’s progress in the Rafa era.
But five minutes later, it’s Vidic letting&nbsp;the ball bounce (his first mistake of the day). Then it’s Torres bringing his foot around Vidic’s midriff, slapping the ball into space. Then it’s Vidic losing his balance—tumbling. Torres peels after the ball—he’s one-on-one with Edwin van der Startled—Torres waits for his moment—he waits—he moves—he strikes—the shot careens toward the far post—the bounce—and—it’s—IN!!!!
Then, as&nbsp;half-time nears, it’s Stevie rounding Evra. Evra doesn’t see him until Stevie’s pulling ahead. Stevie gets a touch on the ball just as Evra goes to ground. Evra’s leg sweeps&nbsp;Stevie’s feet. The whistle blows.&nbsp;Evra—like Reina, a consumate professional— can’t believe he’s made such a mistake under pressure.
Stevie steps to the spot and blasts it to the right. And we’re up a goal… The moment hangs in my mind like Gerrard’s saliva clinging to the television screen&nbsp;(he’d kissed the corner flag camera to celebrate).
The scoreline could have remained 1-2. I would have&nbsp;been ecstatic. But in the 75th minute, Lucas finds Kuyt with a long ball. Kuyt tries to put it through for Gerrard. It ricochets off Vidic but Stevie gets ahold of it anyway. He’s a touch, a turn from being one-on-one with van der Sar. Vidic knows it. He grabs Gerrard by the crotch and pulls him down. Twist and cough, mate. The ref is not happy with the impromtu cup-check and Vidic gets the red card.
Fabio Aurelio kicks the ball over the wall and in. Liverpool are up by two.
Now, I’m about to go against my own criteria a little. I’ve said a classic should be a close match. Ideally with a late winner. So a 1-4 scoreline poses some problems compared with the 2-3s and the 2-1 I’ve already discussed in this cycle of articles.
But a two goal cushion (Liverpool wouldn’t score the fourth until injury time)&nbsp;doesn’t feel like much of a&nbsp;gap against United at Old Trafford. Even if they are down to ten men. They are still United. They still had Ronaldo.&nbsp;A man who&nbsp;can create a chance out of nothing in no time at all. So the minutes after Aurelio’s goal&nbsp;felt as tense as any&nbsp;2-2 match&nbsp;I’ve seen. One goal at any time and they are back in it. At least to fight for a point.
Then, ten seconds into stoppage time, Pepe Reina’s long kick finds&nbsp;substitute Andres Dossena who lets it bounce once before hitting a side-foot-volley-lob over van der Sar’s head and in. We did it!!!! (And I’d like to add: I love seeing the substitute score. Dossena, Babel and Torres have all scored off the bench in these matches. Not a strict criterion for a classic, but definitely a&nbsp;worthwhile&nbsp;consideration.)
Emotionally, this was my favorite match of the season. <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/what-makes-a-classic-football-match-part-1/9244" target="_blank">The City&nbsp;game</a> was more of a well rounded classic. <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/what-makes-a-classic-football-match-part-3-liverpool-2-1-manchester-united/9319" target="_blank">The United match</a> at Anfield was a better performance and a more suspenseful outing. <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/what-makes-a-classic-football-match-part-2/9300" target="_blank">The visit to Portsmouth</a> was simply as strange as it was satisfying. But scoring 4 goals at Old Trafford, coming from behind again and having such a variety of goals (the one-on-one, the penalty, the one-of-the-sexiest-free-kicks-I’ve-ever-seen, and the long service to half-volley-side-foot-lob-shot) and the opponents getting an ejection… I just can’t imagine more thrills.
So those are my biased nominations for&nbsp;Football Classic &nbsp;from 08/09. I’d love to hear what others think and what matches you’d pick. Let me know in the comment section.

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 4: Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool - World Soccer Talk

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 4: Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool

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In Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby tells us what a match requires to be “really, truly memorable.” He wants as many of the following as possible (and I paraphrase): goals, bad refereeing decisions,&nbsp;a noisy Crowd, rain etc, opposition misses&nbsp;a penalty, opposition receives a red card, a disgraceful incident.
I’m with him on everything except maybe the disgraceful incident. And&nbsp;I would add to the list: A short&nbsp;bout of bad football from one’s own side. There’s probably a better way to phrase it, but ultimately, my favorite matches are the ones where my side&nbsp;royally screws things up&nbsp;early so they can redeem themselves later on. Ideally some bad defending is involved.&nbsp;There’s nothing like seeing your side&nbsp;go down early and come back late.
Hornby&nbsp;touches upon this,&nbsp;even if he doesn’t give the&nbsp;sentiment its own bullet point:
“If goals are to be shared, then it is best if the other team get theirs first: I have a particular penchant for the 3-2 home victory, with a late winner after losing 2-0 at half-time.&nbsp;“
Amen. For me, a real classic is a tight match where the other side gets the early lead. Manchester United beating Ipswich 9-0 may be historic. But there is not enough dramatic tension&nbsp;in a goal rout to make it a classic. Manchester defended too well for that.&nbsp;Clean sheets are wonderful. But they don’t give a match a classic&nbsp;plot-line unless there’s a late winner just before the end (Liverpool jumping on Yossi Benayoun after his late Fulham goal is still the desktop picture on my laptop).The come-from-behind match. The injury-time winner.&nbsp; Desperate&nbsp;ingredients such as these are essential&nbsp;in the recipe for&nbsp;that match&nbsp;that stays with you forever. Like your first&nbsp;kiss. Or&nbsp;your first time seeing someone naked outside of a bad 80s movie (Teen Wolf and Police Academy were border-line porn when I was six-years-old). Of course these matches often&nbsp;kill me&nbsp;while I’m watching them.&nbsp;Even if they are half enjoyble,&nbsp;I can feel them shaving years off the end of my life.&nbsp;But in retrospect, once the points have been secured, they become epic.
This week I look at some of the matches from last season I feel have the most potential for classic status. They all involve Liverpool… (yes, I’m a&nbsp;Liverpool supporter who started an article&nbsp;quoting Nick&nbsp;Hornby. Go ahead: book me for literary football blasphemy.) They all involve Liverpool going behind a goal or more at some point.
1.) Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool – 5 Oct 2008
If you told me this match had been produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, I might have believed you. It was packed&nbsp;full of suspense and dramatic events.
Nineteen minutes in, Shaun Wright-Phillips—whose pace and devilish skill would have me on edge all match (how,&nbsp;I wished Liverpool had scooped him up from Chelsea)—stole the ball from Aurelio and shot down the right. I swear, you could see smoke coming off his boots as he torpedoed in.&nbsp;He sent the ball boxward, it came back to him, and his second attempt&nbsp;and the resulting penalty-area confusion&nbsp;saw Stephen Ireland gobble up a loose ball and blast it past Pepe Reina.
City were up. But I consoled myself with our recent results against Middlesbrough, Manchester United and Marseille. All wins after we’d been a goal down. There was plenty of time to recover.
Then on 43 minutes, a speeding Wright-Phillips (who else?) tumbles and City get a free kick. Garrido (I know—I’d never heard of him either)&nbsp;curls one&nbsp;into the right corner. Garridinho?&nbsp;Two-nil to City. Are you serious?
Rafa must have given the perfect rally talk in the dressing room. I like to think he simply whips out the transcript of his half-time Istanbul speech for such&nbsp;occassions. Liverpool came out a different side. Ten minutes after the break, Xabi finds Mascherano. Masch finds Gerrard. Gerrard finds Arbeloa. Arbeloa finds Torres. GOAL!!!!! Perfect team build-up with El Nino getting to the ball just as the defender is taking him down. Okay. Still lots of time.
Then: elation. I love red cards. I’m sorry. I really do. Vidic. Cahill. Valencia. Lampard. Barton. Players would be lining up to get ejected all season for challenges on Xabi Alonso.&nbsp;At City’s ground,&nbsp;it would be Zabeleta’s turn.&nbsp;Not as Oh-My-God-We’re-Going-To-Beat-United satisfying as seeing Vidic go… not as&nbsp;Why-The-Hell-Did-He-Do-That-Oh-Yeah-Because-He’s-Joey-Barton baffling as Barton’s&nbsp;sliding stupidity in May…&nbsp;yet the Zabeleta ejection after his studs-up tackle has that&nbsp;incomperable&nbsp;contextual savoriness because Liverpool were still down a goal and now&nbsp;one really felt like the Reds could score two in the remaining 23 minutes.
Sure enough, Liverpool’s pressure&nbsp; soon led to a corner. Nobody tracked El Nino’s run. He elevated and headed home Gerrard’s service. Extra rewarding because Liverpool’s corners are usually about as threatening as a snarling&nbsp;shih tzu&nbsp;tied to a massive&nbsp;“Beware of Dog” sign.
Then: heartbreak. Martin Skrtel, Liverpool’s resident brick wall, jumps to control a ball and falls awkwardly on his right leg. Skrtel, who’d been a first-choice centre-back since the previous winter, is carried off as supporters pray that Liverpool can squeeze in one more&nbsp;miracle with their remaining ten players.&nbsp;(And of course, that their favorite Slovakian defender will get well soon. Knew I forgot something.)
Six minutes of&nbsp;injury time&nbsp;are given. Liverpool will only need two.
Benayoun digs into the left-hand side. He sends it back to Torres at the edge of the box. Torres fires. The ball deflects. Kuyt pounces. GOAL!!! Kuyt’s running and sliding. The side goes wild! So do we!
From utter devastation to total victory in a little over a half hour. One of the greatest matches I’ve seen. (Also, I now&nbsp;feel a deeper connection to Rafa Benitez because I feel confident we were out buying ulcer medication at about the same time.) One of the highlights of a standout season.
To non-Liverpool supporters: what do you deem a recent classic for your own&nbsp;club? To Liverpool supporters: once I finish the cycle (four or five articles)&nbsp;which of these do you feel is the biggest contender? Have I missed anything? I look forward to your thoughts.
Tomorrow: <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/what-makes-a-classic-football-match-part-2/9300" target="_blank">Part 2</a>… Rafa Fields A Strange&nbsp;XI on the South Coast…

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 1 - World Soccer Talk

What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 1

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What Makes A Classic Football Match? Part 4: Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool

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